“Modern football in the NFL is quarterback-driven. That is no secret.” – Ben Johnson

Scott Kacsmar (betus.com)  —  Fans of the Chicago Bears were so happy after the 2024 NFL draft that their team finally found “The One” in Caleb Williams after basically searching for a franchise quarterback since Sid Luckman retired in 1950. The NFL news and predictions in Chicago were so optimistic for a change.

Well, 2024 didn’t go as planned, but new Bears head coach Ben Johnson took the job because he also believes Williams is The One, a role he might be playing up too hard after he showed up to Johnson’s presser dressed like Neo from The Matrix.

I can already hear Wake Up by Rage Against the Machine accompanying the Bears QB out of the building. But Williams said the last 12 months have felt like he was in The Matrix, a nod to the coaching turmoil that plagued his rookie season when the Bears started 4-2 and won one more game the rest of the year.

Look, no one in the NFC North ended up winning a playoff game let alone the 2025 Super Bowl, so they’re all pretty miserable going into the offseason. But the Bears have some hope on their side with Morpheus and Neo Johnson and Williams together.

Ben Johnson Is a Great Hire

Are we really taking the red pill on the Bears again after last year when they lost 10 straight NFL games out of their bye week? You want to give this franchise credit for a great move, and most people had Williams as the No. 1 quarterback in his draft class. Williams spent his rookie 2024 season on an offense ranked 32nd in the NFL with only 284.6 total yards per game.

Then it just so happens that Jayden Daniels, who went No. 2 to Washington, looks like the best rookie ever and is already eyeing a Super Bowl appearance on a roster no one was comparing favorably to Chicago.

But I’m willing to cut the Bears some slack because keeping Matt Eberflus as the coach was an awful decision. Williams showed enough potential as a rookie, and the hiring of Johnson seems like a good fit as he’s a creative mind who coordinated a great offense in Detroit for Jared Goff.

It was Johnson’s presser that sold me on the hire.

“Modern football in the NFL is quarterback-driven,” Johnson said. “That is no secret. You can look at analytics right now, quarterback success is a higher predictor of winning and losing than turnover ratio, which it’s been for 20-plus years.”

He’s right. People are overemphasizing turnovers and “safe” play. In fact, the 2024 Bears lost nine straight games at one point despite Williams never throwing an interception in any of them. The previous NFL record for that was five games. Yet, what good is not throwing picks if you’re not scoring enough points to win games?

The way Johnson said he’ll build his offense with Williams as the foundation is very refreshing to hear. He’s not going to force his playbook on him and expect him to be robotic like Goff. He’s going to create something new with the pieces he has in Chicago, which doesn’t include much of an offensive line yet.

It’s a tough division but show me any NFL betting odds for the 2025 Bears and I’m likely to take the over in wins. I’m ready to see where this rabbit hole goes with Caleb and Johnson.

“We hopped on the phone, and we shared the same excitement for him being the coach here and us be able to grow and go on this journey together,” Williams told ChicagoBears.com. “He has a sense of fire. You can see it in him, which, I would say I have a very similar fire. He has that competitiveness and a sense of no-nonsense.

“He told me that it’ll be my offense,” Williams said. “He’s going to build around me, but also, he’s going to test me. He’s going to challenge me in the offseason and things like that to what’s worked and what works in the NFL and things he may want me to get better at. But at the end of the day, if that doesn’t fit me, if it doesn’t work with me, it won’t be there.”

“There is no question this guy is talented,” Johnson told reporters back on Dec. 20. “I remember standing on the sideline last game, and just, you can hear the ball whistle by you. He’s got quite a fastball, and has some creativity to him, can extend plays, and is accurate down the field as well.”

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